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“It’s the medics, let them in,” he said quickly as he continued to work on Camilla.
She ran to the door, unlocked it, and let the team of medics in. They rushed toward Camilla and Mitch.
“Multiple wounds to the abdomen. Compressions started one minute ago,” he said quickly, scurrying back as the team took over.
Zoe stood against the wall, watching the scene unfold in front of her. It took the medics a while to stabilize Camilla enough to move her, and even then Zoe didn’t think her chances of making it were very high.
Camilla was lifted onto a stretcher and wheeled out while Zoe continued watching helplessly.
Suddenly the house was quiet again. Mitch looked at the door for a long moment and then turned to Zoe, taking a step toward her. He looked her up and down, his gaze settling on her bloody hands.
“Are you okay?” he asked, searching her eyes.
She blew out a long breath. “Define okay,” she said, managing a small smile. “She ran up to the door, banging her fist—I assume—screaming for help. When I opened the door, she all but fell on me. She looks like Lana, right?” Zoe said.
Mitch studied her a moment. “Can we go into the kitchen for a few minutes?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Ah, sure,” she said. “Can I get you a tea or coffee or water... anything?”
He gave her a tired smile. “A water would be great, thanks,” he said, taking a seat at her dining table.
She washed the blood from her hands, quickly filled a glass with water, and flicked on her kettle—she definitely needed a cup of tea to settle her nerves—and went back to the dining table. She passed him the glass and took a seat.
He looked thoughtful, like he was choosing his words, so she stayed quiet. Finally he said, “I’m going to tell you something about this case—about Lana’s case—and I don’t want it repeated to anyone.” His tone was gentle but there was no mistaking the seriousness in his eyes.
She gave a small smile. “I promise. Anyway, who do I have to tell?”
His head tilted, watching her. His face softened. “That girl did look like Lana. So did the second victim from the forest who we identified today. They all look like they could be sisters. Unfortunately, you have a connection to Lana, and now to Camilla. I’m not saying I think you’re guilty of anything, but you are implicated in this,” he added quickly. “I have to look at every connection.”
It took everything within her not to crumble. She bit her lip and inhaled deeply. It wasn’t totally unexpected, but it felt worse than she thought it would. She gave a stiff nod.
He sighed. “What were you doing before Camilla arrived?”
She cleared her throat. “I was sitting in the rocking chair on the back porch, drinking a peppermint tea, thinking about Lana. I was alone... I don’t have an alibi.” Her mind raced for something to help her, to prove her innocence. Again she felt abandoned by God. First, he’d taken everyone she loved and now her innocence was being questioned.
“My phone. You can check the location of my phone, right? I didn’t leave this house, and you can check it. There is no blood except where she came in. Go,” Zoe said, pointing to the back door. “Check the whole house. You won’t find anything.”
There was an apology in his eyes, but he did exactly what she told him to.
Zoe pressed her back against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest. Her first thought was to flee before she was framed for something she didn’t do, but she was sure officers were at the front of her property. Regardless, she wouldn’t flee and look guilty. She had no connection to these murders. She’d loved her sister. She would’ve died for her.
She would give her life for Lana’s if it would bring her back.
Mitch returned after many long minutes, the apology still in his eyes. “Can we sit?”
Zoe nodded, reining in her emotions. He was doing his job and she should be grateful he was leaving no stone unturned, but he was wasting his time with this.
She sat at her dining table and he pulled out the chair at the head of the table, angling it toward her.
“I know this is hard, and I’m sorry, but I have to do my job, no matter how much I don’t like it,” Mitch said.
“You don’t need to apologize to me,” she said a little more curtly than she intended. She was fighting hard to keep her emotions in check and it was showing.
“I’m going to station a few officers at the front of your property. They will stay here for a few days, just to keep an eye on things. Wherever Camilla came from, it wasn’t far away—she couldn’t have run far in that state.”
Zoe bit her lip. “Officers to keep an eye on me? Or to keep an eye on the woods around my house?”
Mitch looked directly into her eyes. “Both,” he said. “I need to rule you out as a suspect, and having security officers stationed here will do that if something else happens in Redwater. But, I also want them to watch this area for another reason,” he said. He exhaled a long sigh. “I’m going to tell you something else about this case, and again it can’t be repeated to anyone.” He looked at her, continuing only when she nodded. “We’re certain this is a serial-killer case. The coroner is still investigating, but we think all the victims were killed in the same way—stab wounds to the abdomen—and they all look similar. This fits with patterns we’ve seen on previous serial-killer cases; it also means you may be a target, Zoe. You look so much like Lana.”
